PSALM 13:1-2 – How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

THEME OF THE DAY. THEY ARE NOT ETERNAL. Right now, I am sure some of us are going through fairly deep waters of trials, suffering, and testing. If not, we will. This is life. This is the reality of the human experience. There is no escaping the results of sin entering our world. We will suffer. We will hurt. We will be tempted. We will be tested. It is God’s curse on the world and His ways of building His people into the character of His Son, the Lord Jesus. So, please, don’t think life should be smooth sailing with only minor inconveniences. Such thinking is a denial of Biblical truth and the testimony of the human race since the fall in the Garden of Eden. But my statement isn’t diminishing the pain in trials, suffering, and testing. They are difficult. They are not easy to navigate. And today’s scripture reveals a heart and life feeling the weightiness of life under the sun. We identify with the Psalmist. We know what he is experiencing and because we do, when we read his words, two things should come upon us.

First, we are not alone and that means there are other Christians who need our help. In the Psalmist’s case, we want to run up to him and extend a shoulder to cry on. He is hurting and one of our responsibilities as Christ’s disciples is to go to those who are in the condition of the Psalmist to “carry one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Do a quick spiritual assessment. Are we carrying the burdens of our fellow brothers and sisters? If not, why not? And part of the answer to “why not” is that we are not investing in Biblical fellowship and relationships with our Christians to know their burdens. We cannot carry what we don’t know to pick up. Think about it. Jesus isn’t the only burden-carrier in His family.

Another response we should have when reading today’s scripture is to sit back and think “big picture”. What I mean by that is don’t let the emotions of our current situation cloud us from the reality of life and eternity. Our trials may feel eternal. Our difficult circumstances appear never to change. Our suffering season seems to be forever. In the pain of each, we cry out to our God, “How long? How long is this going to last? How long do I have to feel alone, abandoned, powerless, and without comfort?” But if we pause in the pain and take our cries of “How long?” and change them to “Lord, teach me what I must learn in this season, no matter how long it takes”, we will know the comfort of His Presence and the power of His promises enabling us to patiently endure and grow through each trial, circumstance and situation. The Psalmist brought himself to this reality. Take time to read all of Psalm 13. It doesn’t end as it started. Here is the Psalmist when he gets himself to the point of proper thinking – But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me (Psalm 13:5-6). He went from complaining and “woe is me” to a resolve to trust God and worship. He simply would not allow his present emotional state and circumstances sour his spiritual relationship with God. And the lesson is the same for us. Every hard thing in life has an end. Hard things are not eternal, and if we see them for what they are – opportunities for spiritual growth, though they are not eternal, they will produce eternal results for our good and God’s glory.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I complain which reveals my lack of submission to Your absolute sovereignty.”

QUOTE: “God is in control. He orchestrates all things to His purposes. To complain of anything denies these truths”